Ways to get into the holiday spirit

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Happy December, friendos! Because I’m feeling especially festive this year, I’ve got a lot of plans for the holidays here in the quirkyverse. Starting yesterday (on the gram), we’ll be celebrating with 25 days of holiday joy! There will be a few giveaways sprinkled throughout the month over on Instagram (and there’s one live right now!). Festive ideas. Gift guides to help you shop or make your own wishlist. And brightly colored happiness wrapped up in a bow.

To start the month off properly, I’m giving you some easy ideas for jollying up your life this month. You know I’m festive AF every year, so here are some of the ways I get started.

Holiday wearables

“Ugly” Christmas sweaters

Remember when people actually wore ugly Christmas sweaters unironically? And then when other people started thrifting said sweaters and wearing them because it was funny?

Yeah, those days are so gone. If you’re going to wear an “ugly” Christmas sweater, I say make it a super cute one like this Grinchy sweater.

Or a hilarious one, like this National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation sweater.

Or marry the two ideas with this amazing 3D plush dinosaur sweater.

3D plush dinosaur ugly Christmas sweater

My friends at UglyChristmasSweater.com sent me the coolest, funniest, cutest dinosaur holiday sweater to share with you, and I absolutely love it! I sized down on this one to an XL, and I was super glad I did. It fits perfectly for all of my Christmas sweater needs. The dinosaur has velcro to stay on the sweater, and it comes with some industrial sized safety pins to keep him safely secured to your back and torso. The sweater is super cozy too!

I haven’t named my dinosweater yet, and I’m hoping you can help! Leave a comment below with your name idea. Because this dino and I are going to be besties for life.

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A post shared by Quirky Chrissy (@quirkychrissy) on Dec 1, 2019 at 9:01am PST

If you want to try your luck this week, I’ve partnered with UglyChristmasSweater.com, and we’re giving one of these sweaters away over on Instagram.

Festive accessories

I love holiday headbands and slippers and Santa hats. Necklaces and bracelets and ribbons in my hair. I wear them all month long for a festive flair. Jingle all the way, that’s what I always say! Most of my accessories are older or thrifted, but if you’re looking to add to your collection, here are a few items I’ve seen recently that I love.

Christmas fascinator — If you’re crafty, you can probably make your own, but if you’re not, this holiday fascinator is under $15 on Amazon.

Christmas elf slippers — If I didn’t already have a pair of holiday jingle slippers, these Joe Boxer elf slippers would so be on my Christmas list.

Christmas bow necklace set — I may have just ordered this gift bow necklace set for myself. Wanna be twins?

Holiday colors

Want to be festive without the extra flourishes? Pair fun combinations of red and green for super holiday fun. I’m a big fan of color blocking and mixing/matching solid-colored pieces like this green dress, red top, and red leggings (technically, they are paprika, but whatever).

Pro-tip: When I wear a blouse over a dress, I usually tie it in the back with a hair tie so that it cinches my waist.

Chrissy in front of a pink Christmas tree wearing red and green — The top is thrifted, the dress is almost a decade old, and the leggings are from Fabletics, which is where 90% of my colored leggings come from.

You can use accessories to make colors pop if you don’t want to be too bold with the color blocking – like a green belt and scarf with a red t-shirt dress (I wore it over skinny jeans because winter). You can switch up your accessories to be a little less extra, but I always recommend the extra.

Chrissy in front of a Christmas tree wearing red and green — Both the scarf and belt are thrifted and the shirt dress I’ve had for a few years. I tend to buy solid colored belts and scarves when I see them because they make the best Disneybounds and color-blocking.

Decorations

Trim a tree

I have had my Christmas trees up since mid-November. They make me happy. I always have at least one themed Christmas tree and one hodgepodge, family-ornament Christmas tree. This year, I also have a fancy tree (but make it Chrissy).

Mickey Mouse Christmas tree — This is the Mickey and Minnie Mouse tree. I only decorate the top half, because it’s behind the couch.

Pink Christmas tree — This is my obsession. I forgot I bought these ornaments last year for this tree, but omg I am obsessed.

Wintery atmosphere

Garland is key when decorating our house. Whether it’s lighted garland on the banisters or super flowy strings of faux pine needles and holly leaves hanging all over the house, we have garland everywhere. And it looks awesome.

Chrissy wearing maroon and dark green in front of pre-lit garland — This photo is from two years ago (blonde hair), but the garland behind me remains the same. I just haven’t put the garland up yet. (But hey, here’s another way to mix and match some more holiday colors. A maroon dress and a deep green cardigan.

Twinkle lights are also a necessary component. Christmas comes when the nights are longest, and what better way to brighten a room than with twinkle lights everywhere?

Tablescape

I have Christmas dishes. Of course, I have Christmas dishes. When Brian and I moved into our first (and only, actually) apartment together, my mom bought me a few pieces of Pfaltzgraff Winterberry as a housewarming gift. And from there, it’s become an obsession.

I also went through a Rae Dunn obsessive phase, and I used some of those dishes to make another fun set up for afternoon tea (and cocoa). Rae Dunn can be found at your local TJ Maxx/Marshall’s/Homegoods or on sites like Mercari and Poshmark (if you say quirkychrissy referred you, we each get $5).

Rae Dunn Christmas tablescape with Kate Spade tablecloths — You can do this with any plain dishes too! Colorful tablecloths like this Kate Spade tablecloth and Kate Spade runner complete the look. I couldn’t easily find the green cloth and red runner to share with you, but I was able to find a green runner and a red tablecloth if you’re interested in this color blocking dining tablescape.

So there you have it, friends. Chrissy guide to celebratory holiday fun! Dress festive and decorate festively to enjoy every second of the holiday season. How do you get into the Christmas spirit? Let me know in the comments!

Quirky Chrissy

A dreamer and a klutz, Chrissy is the sole proprietor of this blog. Her lifelong aspirations include owning a cheese shop, writing several books, and being played by someone famous in the movie version of her life.